Party Game Drew 180,000 Players Worldwide — Now a New Version Launches
Their friendship began in high school in Gothenburg. Now Dazed Games is aiming for its next big leap with Out of Hand Deluxe after the free version was played by hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Last Thursday the duo released the online multiplayer version of the game on Steam.
“We’re ready to expand into the international market” says Carl-Vilhelm Johansson.
Dazed Games is made up of two driven developers Carl-Vilhelm Johansson and Melvin Olsson. They met while studying game development at LBS High School in Gothenburg and quickly realized they complemented each other both technically and creatively. That shared spark led them to continue their journey together.
After three years at the University of Skövde the pair set out to create a party game that would fill the gaps they had felt were missing from the market.
“During our university years a bunch of us would hang out playing various party games in the evenings and on weekends. But something always felt lacking. We saw the potential to make a simple and accessible game that anyone could enjoy” says Carl-Vilhelm Johansson.
No sooner said than done. For their final project in the game development program in Skövde Melvin and Carl-Vilhelm decided to build exactly that. A party game focused on humor and accessibility. The result was Out of Hand.
“Our goal was to make something easy fast and fun that reminded us of the pure joy we felt when playing as kids. And we really think we nailed that” says Melvin Olsson.
Carl-Vilhelm Johansson and Melvin Olsson.
Surprise Hit in China
After wrapping up the project the duo uploaded the game to Steam with little to no marketing. At first not much happened but then things took off.
A Chinese YouTuber discovered the game and shared a video which triggered a viral snowball effect. Within a short time nearly 200,000 players had tried Out of Hand mostly from China and South America. It became an unexpected viral hit and the team decided to go all in.
They’ve spent the past two years developing a more advanced version of the game all while being part of the Sweden Game Startup program at Science Park Skövde.
“We know a lot about game development but very little about running a business. Thanks to the support we received we’ve been able to build a company while staying focused on development” says Melvin Olsson.
The Game Is Out Now
Out of Hand Deluxe is finally out packed with new features compared to the free version. Thirty new levels improved game mechanics and full online multiplayer support are just a few of the additions.
“We’re trying a unique approach to marketing the game. Everyone who downloaded the free version will get the deluxe version completely free. We hope this will help build a strong community with the potential to grow even further” says Carl-Vilhelm Johansson.
Out of Hand Deluxe is available now on Steam. Check it out here.
Related news
